The GeChic On-Lap 1302 portable monitor is a light and versatile 13.3" LCD that weighs just 1.44 lbs. and is 0.33" thick. Most portable monitors plug into a USB port and the means they work only with computers and depend on DisplayLink drivers. The On-Lap 1302 is much more versatile because it has both HDMI and VGA connectors, and a Mini DisplayPort cable is coming in June, according to GeChic, a company based in Taiwan. That means you can use the monitor with smartphones that have HDMI out, Sony PS3 game consoles, video cameras with HDMI out, Android tablets with HDMI and the iPad with Apple's HDMI adapter.

The On-Lap 1302 sells for $199 and it's available on NewEgg. The monitor, cables and a rubbery building-block style stand are included. You can use an optional battery pack to power the monitor or plug it into a USB port (1 amp required) for power. We use it with our iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S II chargers since they're very small and output the required 1 amp. When using a notebook USB port for power, we found we had to use the high power sleep-and-charge port to get enough juice.

The On-Lap is 1366 x 768 resolution (720p capable), which is typical for 13" displays. It's a TN panel and doesn't have wide viewing angles or high contrast. Brightness is a modest 200 nits and the contrast ratio is 500:1. This isn't a high end IPS panel, and we suspect GeChic kept the brightness down so it would work with a high powered USB port. It's bright enough for indoor use and color saturation is decent. If you use it with a laptop, it will act as a second monitor. If you plug it into most tablets and smartphones, it will mirror the device's internal panel. It's certainly handy as a monitor for HD video recording and as a portable presentation tool with mobile devices.